First run out of the year.

 The plan was to go to Poolsbrook Park campsite, I checked the availability, no problems, went in to book and someone swiped the Saturday night pitch from under me ! So back to the drawing board. Eventually we decided to stay close to home and found a site near Retford, £21 per night plus electric.

This is the first time that we have had a prepayment meter on the pitch so opted to pop £20 on (we knew that we would be refunded any remaining credit) as we needed to charge leisure our batteries from empty and we would be using our small fan heater in the evenings.

The nearest bus stop was just up the road and the current national bus fare of £2 made it easy to travel into Retford for the day.

As usual, we trolled round the charity shops ( a few dvds were purchased) and shopped for some bits and bobs that have been running low in the van. We were very impressed by the wall painting relating to the historic sheep fairs., painted in 2018 by Retford Art Society painters it makes an eye stopping addition to the town.

We wondered down the the canal to have a look at the lock.

As we turned to leave the canal, I noticed another painted building hiding behind a rather large motorhome and car.

All in all we were pleasantly surprised by Retford especially as we had never visited before, in spite of it being so close to home.

A quick two night stay but I would imagine that we will return to this pleasant quiet campsite, and the electricity cost for the weekend was just a smudge under £5  😀

That's about it for now, crafty update next week ( I may have made a fleecy purchase or two ) 

Speak soon x

charity shop haul and a bit of crafting as promised

 Last post I made a comment about charity shops, well I was very successful over the east coast break :-) I collected some books, bobbins and even a lace making pillow.

As you can see, a few knitting needles were added to the mix at £1 per set. The bobbins and pillow were £3 and the lace related books just 50p each.

I've used the bobbins to make up a kit for a new beginner, I have so much stuff that I'm now in a position to pass things on as a complete kit to those who are interested.

I also snagged a couple of cross stitch kits to add to my rainy day collection.

Talking of cross stitch, I'm going to be doing a drop in workshop for anyone wanting to learn cross stitch and make a mothers day card at my local cafe. I've come up with a couple of easy designs, one for the total beginner on 11 count and one on 14 count that is a little more complicated.

As for my own cross stitch, I'm up to date with the tiles SAl and have just passed the halfway mark.

and like an idiot, I signed up for the Fox and Rabbit Royal Garden sal which has monthly parts. I signed up half way through Jan so I'm rather behind at the moment.

As usual I've been knitting and spinning, four pairs of mitts and 3 skeins of yarn but it was all washed and packed before I realised that I hadn't taken a photo ! still, I'm sure you know what it looks like :-)

I managed to attend a bobbin lace drop in day and introduced a friend to the local Guild of weavers, spinners and dyers.

That's about it for now, we are busy booking campsites and the odd festival ready for the warmer weather and I've also booked a small fibre festival next month.

Speak soon

xx